Apple’s annual software event has wrapped up, and these are the most exciting things that were revealed.
Liquid Glass design
The star of WWDC 25 was undeniably the new visual design Apple is applying to all its software. This new aesthetic draws heavily on visionOS as the rumours suggested, but in action, it feels more wide-reaching than what originally shipped on the Apple headset.
The new design looks like a fairly subtle upgrade to Apple’s various operating systems. Instead of changing how things function, it mostly changes how things look, so it should be fairly approachable for most users.
There are more fun animations in the new OS design that sort of pop and bounce a little more akin to the way the water elements of the Dynamic Island works, but not quite as liquid. The new glass basis for many elements also means there is more transparency and colours can shine through the glass which is a cool effect, especially in motion.
You can even take this to its absolute maximum by making your app icons on iPhone, iPad, and Mac transparent so they look very glassy. For minimalists, this will be an iconic update. On the Mac, the menu bar along the top of the screen is now completely transparent to really sell this effect.
iPad finally becomes a computer
Apple has given the people what they want and implemented a very Mac-forward, multi-window approach to the iPad that promises to make using the tablet like a laptop a lot more straightforward for Mac users. There are normal traffic light buttons in the top left of each app to make closing and tiling multiple apps a breeze.
The iPad and iPhone are even getting versions of the Mac’s Preview app to add a native tool for PDF management to Apple’s mobile devices. Alongside this, the Files app on iPad is also getting a host of usability changes to make it more in line with the Mac version. You can even pin folders to your app dock like on a Mac.
The Mac element I didn’t expect to make its way over to iPadOS is the Menu bar. You can now swipe down gently from the top edge of an iPad to see the typical File, Edit, Format, View, Window and Help options that you see along the top of the screen on a Mac.
Finally, to drive the point home that the iPad is a computer now, Apple has updated the mouse pointer to be an actual pointer instead of the simple grey dot it was before.
Check out all of the iPadOS 26 features in our full story.
Call screening
Taking a page from Google’s book, Apple is now implementing a form of call screening that will ask unknown callers for their names and why they’re calling before it starts running for you. This should help cut down on the amount of scam calls we have to deal with.
This feature builds on top of Live Voicemail from iOS 18. There is also a feature that will automatically wait on hold for you and then prompt you when someone on the other end finally picks up.
Apple is also adding this scam filtering tech to the Messages app so it will try and hide texts from unknown people that seem suspicious. There will be a new inbox menu in the top left of the messages app where you can then go through and sort through these messages to see if there is anything worthwhile that you missed.
Read about all the other iOS 26 updates in our full story on the release.
Workout Buddy
The Apple Watch is finally getting an Apple Intelligence-powered feature called Workout Buddy. This is a little chatbot that will talk to you as you’re working out with your stats and some words of encouragement.
This feature seems pretty fun and should make it a little easier to get a recap of how your workout went after you’re done. This reminds me of the friendliness of the Spotify AI DJ feature, but instead of talking to you about music you like, it will talk to you about your workouts.
You can read even more about the new Apple Watch features in our full breakdown.
Superpowered system search
Apple is launching its biggest update ever for Spotlight search on the Mac this fall, and it will let you build new quick shortcuts to make navigating your computer even easier without the need to take your hands off the keyboard. With these new shortcuts, you can even send texts or write a note directly in Spotlight.
The search tool is also smarter than ever before and will use context to show you the search results that it thinks are most relevant to you and the work you’re doing at that moment. There are also new filtering options so you can narrow down your search as well if there are too many results.
There are tons of other updates coming to macOS 26 as well, and you can find out all the details in our prior story.
When can you get these new features?
Apple has rolled out the first Developer Beta today, but the public one is expected to come out in a month. Then the full releases will happen in the fall.
You can find out if your devices support the new operating systems in our prior coverage.
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